Butler Bulldogs Are Ready To Bully On The Battlefield

MATTHEWS, NC –  The Butler Bulldogs are the bad boys of the Southwestern 4A conference. They are not looking to make friends, they want to make more room in their trophy case.

The Butler Bulldogs are one of the most storied schools in the Southwestern conference, with a reputation built on success.

“When we play as a unit I feel like we are the best team around, there is no one that can touch us when we play as a unit,” said junior quarterback Zachary Lawrence.

That success comes from a coaching staff with decades of experience, working together like clockwork.

“This time of year I should have this in, by the first game I want to have this part, in by October I want to have this part in. We are such a veteran crew right now, we picked up right where the season ended last season, said head football coach Brian Hales.

The Bulldogs did not miss a step in the offseason, getting ahead of the competition through consistency and preparation.

“Yessir it is all about preparation in practice. We practice this every day, we practice, we drill it continually and coaches continue to push us every day to get better at that because they know that is what is going to bring us to success,” said Tyquan Rankin, a senior linebacker and running back for the Bulldogs.

“I prepare so much and I put so much time into it because I mean I love it. I love the game and it causes me to know stuff that other people might not know,” said Lawrence.

One thing they found throughout last season into the summer, was an aura of comfort that lead to taking plays off; something they want to wipe away this year.

“I don’t care if it is Friday practice you give a hundred percent, if we are just in helmets, okay oh well, we do what we have to do to prepare for those moments,” said Rankin.

Hales wants his guys to go out of their comfort zone, to reach the ceiling of a state championship.

“The biggest things for going into the offseason; I’ve got to run better. I’ve got to open myself up, not become one dimensional because when you get one dimensional you get predictable. I don’t want to be predictable,” said Lawrence.

“It’s brand new. The plays might be the same, the uniforms, the formations but it is different, the skill set is different. So it is the challenge of making sure we make the right selections in terms of how we want to go about playing football,” said Hales.

The Butler Bulldogs open up their season on Friday, August 18, 2023 on the road at Rolesville High School.